Water charity Just a Drop has launched a Twitter campaign to raise awareness of the struggles many people living in developing countries face to get access to water, centred around what is believed to be the longest-ever Twitter thread.
Designed to coincide with World Water Day (22 March), the #WalktotheWell Twitter campaign challenges people to scroll through the equivalent of the 9km journey that people like Ann – a 32-old woman with two children living in rural Kenya – makes each day to get water.
Comprising more than 2,000 tweets, #WalktotheWell will be the longest Twitter thread ever created, with each tweet representing 4.4 metres walked.
“It’s a very authentic reproduction of this mother’s walk for water, to the well and back,” founder Fiona Jeffery told TTG. “Through the thread, people will get a sense of the hopes and dreams as well as the fears Ann has along the way.”
Once people have scrolled as far as they can, they will like the tweet they want to drop off from. This will trigger an automatic reply which will show participants the distance they have reached and where to donate to Just a Drop’s fundraising efforts.
“The aim is really to raise awareness and funds for Just a Drop, and also to create a sand dam for Ann and her community where they can access water safely,” Jeffery said.
The founder has urged people in the travel industry to retweet the thread, see how far they will go if they were to walk alongside Ann and eventually make a small donation.
“We’re really looking for people that are in the industry and on Twitter to pick up the thread, follow it and retweet it,” she added.
I’m Ann and I have no choice but to walk 9km every single day, just to collect water.
— The Walk To The Well (@Just_a_Drop) March 13, 2023
How far can you get on my #WalktotheWell?
Scroll through the [thread] below now and ❤️ the tweet you reach to find out the distance you’ve walked.#WorldWaterDay pic.twitter.com/JXqh78Qgqx
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